MS Office 2013 won't run after a software crash

Hi triffic,

Thank you for writing to the Dell Community Forum.

Use this link http://bit.ly/1NuNLrm using Internet Explorer, run the O15CTRRemove easy fix tool. It would start the uninstall Microsoft Office wizard, follow the prompts this tool will uninstall the MS Office 2013 completely. On completion of uninstalling it would prompt you to restart the system.

Find Avast icon in the Windows system tray (click on the top arrow)

Go to ‘Avast shields control‘ > ‘Disable until the computer is restarted‘ > confirm.

Install the Microsoft Office 2013, activate the same online and then restart the system for Avast to be enabled.

Kindly get back if there are any further queries.

Many thanks for the detailed instructions. The O15CTRRemove program seemed to do a very thorough job of removing all the MS Office. I had already uninstalled Avast, because it seemed to be the cause of the Windows crash, and have replaced it with McAfee.

I then restarted the Inspiron computer and reinstalled MS Offfice 2013 from the 'stores' website, using the product code. When the re-installation was complete I again closed-and-restarted and tried to open Word. Alas, it still fails with the message about License not being recognized.  Also, the computer had now started to flag up that Windows 8.1 has not been activated, and I need to input the Product Key to activate Windows.

The new problem is that I was never given the product key for Windows 8.1. Dell supplied the Inspiron as a special package, just over a year ago, with 8.1 pre-installed, but no DVD disk of software for recovery, so no product key on a disk. They should have given me the Windows product key in the invoice, but failed to do so.  I have just spent a long time on the phone to Dell UK at their Bracknell branch, and have hit a brick wall. The man who should have been able to help told me that because the guarantee had expired (four weeks ago) they would not tell me the product key. That was "Company Policy". I suggested that they had a responsibility to provide customers with all Product Keys (maybe a legal duty, maybe a Microsoft trading condition) but he was adamant that Dell would not provide it. He told me that my only resort was to buy a new Windows 8.1 license and installation disk!!!

So we still do not have a computer that works the way it used to before the crash (and expiry of guarantee). Very bad customer support!

Thanks a lot for trying to help me.

Martin

Hi Martin,

The windows 8.1 is an OEM copy, it would not require a product key to be entered. Please let us know, if you reinstalled the OS on this system using a different copy of windows 8.1. What happens when you try to activate the windows 8.1 on the system. If the recovery media is ordered along with the system, you would see it listed in your invoice copy. Please refer to this link http://dell.to/1U04AJW to reset it back to factory settings. Also request you to please let us know the procedure you followed, to restore the system back to factory settings earlier. 

Please do write back to us.

I found the Windows 8.1 product key by using a software program to extract it from BIOS. However, it did not work either. Direct correspondence with Dell UK suggests that something became corrupted during one of the several crashes.

We dislike Win 8.1 intensely and have decided to abandon attempts at restoring it.  I am hoping to do a clean install of Windows 7 Professional on the Inspiron 3646 as soon as I receive my purchase. The Word version in Office 2013 is also unpleasant to use, and I have bought a full copy of Office 2007 to install. I regret having to buy new programs when the installed ones had been paid for.  I have used Win 7 Pro and Office 2007 for about two years on my Optiplex desktop wihout problems.

Thanks for trying to help.